Falling Darkness Series - A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller - Books 1-3

by Kellee L. Greene

  Kate’s eyes darted around the room. It was like she could feel Simon there, watching them… smiling at her. Between the cracks of thunder, she thought she’d even heard him laughing at her.

  Simon’s family had lived in the home she was inside of, and when the shit hit the fan, they must have taken off to the town. To their church. Together. Maybe they hadn’t known what else to do. Where to turn.

  Kate suddenly noticed more pictures on the wall. A young boy, maybe eight, smiling in front of a light blue cloudy backdrop. It could have been Simon. There was another photo, two boys with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders, grinning so wide their eyes were squeezed shut.

  They looked as though they’d been a normal family. A normal childhood, but the Simon she knew had been far from normal.

  He’d had his sister murdered. Kate didn’t even know what had really happened to Percy’s wife. For all she knew Simon had been responsible for that as well. Kate had been inside the town for nearly a year and hadn’t even known Simon’s family had still been living inside of it with him.

  Kate turned her head catching a smaller picture on the TV stand. It was of a wedding. A bride and groom positioned in front of a church she recognized instantly.

  “Jesus. He was married?” Kate said bending down to pick up the picture. She squinted, but she couldn’t make out who the woman facing the smiling Simon was. The woman’s perfectly styled hair covered most of her profile.

  Ethan shook his head. “Maybe she didn’t make it.”

  Kate handed him the picture, and he shook his head. She set it back down where it had been and wiped her hands on her pants.

  “Simon really would have wanted them to kill us,” Kate said.

  “But they didn’t.” Ethan snorted. “Although, for a second there I wasn’t so sure we were going to make it.”

  “I wonder where they went,” Kate said stepping away from Ethan. She hugged herself as she sat down in the chair and rested the side of her face on her palm.

  Ethan peeked out between the closed curtains. “Far, far away.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Kate said.

  As time ticked by, the storm didn’t ease up. The day quickly turned into night, and the living room filled with darkness.

  Kate shivered, and her stomach rumbled much like the thunder outside. She rested her head back against the chair and attempted to stifle her yawn.

  “It’s going to take us days to get back,” Kate said.

  “If we push it I think we can do it in a day,” Ethan said.

  Kate raised her head and stared at him.

  “What?” Ethan asked with a half-shrug. “It’s just a bit more than what a marathoner would run.”

  “They train.” Kate rested her head back down. “And they aren’t hunted by The Unholy at the same time. I’m so far from being a marathon runner it’s not even funny.”

  “The Unholy will help us go even faster,” Ethan said with a half-smile. “Maybe you should get some rest.”

  Kate shook her head. “As if I can.”

  “I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

  Kate looked at the sofa, and even though she wanted to fight it, she didn’t. She forced herself not to think about the times when Simon had probably laid there himself.

  Her eyes closed the second her head was on the armrest. She hadn’t realized exactly when it had happened, but she trusted Ethan enough to keep her safe. There were no doubts trying to seep in and force her to question him. She simply knew he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  And the funny thing was, she wouldn’t let anything happen to him either. Maybe if she would have let him in sooner, things would have been different. They could have escaped The Way long ago… maybe they would have found help. Found others like them that were working to rebuild what was once theirs.

  She drifted in and out of sleep over the next couple hours. When she woke the last time, she and Ethan exchanged places. Kate stood at the window staring out into the weakening storm.

  The rain was still coming down, but the wind, thunder, and lightning had moved on. Kate watched it flash… multiple wild, bright strikes touched the horizon.

  Out in the yard near the barn, Kate saw something moving. The shadow dragged its feet, sloshing through the muddy yard.

  Kate’s breath caught in her throat when The Unholy stopped and looked toward the house. She held completely still even though there was no way it could see her in the darkness.

  It hunched over its shoulders and continued across the yard and out of view. Not even a minute had gone by when another popped up in the yard, and then another. There were at least twenty of them following behind the first few.

  Kate backed away from the window, not stopping until her back touched the wall behind her. She covered her mouth to stop the startled gasp that had started to form deep inside her.

  She leaned forward placing her palms on her knees as she worked to steady her breathing. There was one good thing about being in the town surrounded by the fence… Kate didn’t have to worry about random Unholy wandering around on her front porch.

  “Everything okay?” Ethan asked softly as he looked at her between half-closed eyelids.

  “Yeah… yeah,” Kate whispered as she straightened her spine. She pointed at the window. “Unholy. Lots of them.”

  “At the door?”

  Kate shook her head. “In the yard.”

  His eyes widened and darted over to the shovel leaning against the wall. “Are they close?”

  “No.” Kate exhaled. “I mean, close but not that close.”

  Ethan’s shoulders relaxed, and he waved her over to the sofa. Kate glanced at the door for a moment as if expecting a knock before she soundlessly made her way over to him.

  “Sit,” Ethan said moving to give her more room. “We’re safe in here.”

  “We are not safe in here.” She said running her fingertips across her brow.

  “Safer in here than we are out there.”

  Kate leaned back against the sofa, but her body was stiff. He was right, but it hadn’t made her feel any better. They weren’t safe anywhere. And when they headed out in the morning, The Unholy could still be out there.

  “How many were out there?” Ethan asked.

  “Twenty, give or take.”

  Ethan cocked his head to the side. “They why do you look so worried? You could handle that on your own.”

  “You give me far too much credit.”

  “I give you the exact credit you deserve. No more. No less.” His expression hardened. “I’ve seen you against them remember?”

  Kate didn’t respond. She couldn’t. It hadn’t been that long ago that she was out there eradicating, but it had felt like a lifetime ago. She’d spent most of her time recently putting the town back together that she’d almost forgotten all about The Unholy. Well, not really, it wasn’t like she could ever really forget about them.

  She’d been fighting them day after day since the disease had spread, but since she’d killed Simon, Kate worried she was out of practice. Her confidence was dwindling. And taking down the ones in the basement hadn’t helped to boost it.

  “What are you thinking about?” Ethan asked leaning closer.

  Kate hadn’t realized she’d been staring at the family photo. “How I still want to leave that horrible town behind.”

  “Really? Because you looked scared to death, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of what’s outside that door.” Ethan jerked his thumb. “When we leave, this is going to be our life. Going house to house, searching for supplies. Those things will always be around.”

  “Maybe. I mean for a while, but we don’t know what else is out there,” Kate said crossing her arms loosely.

  “This might be all that’s out here.”

  Kate turned to him. “When did you get so negative?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not negative, I’m realistic. It’s just that it’s not so bad inside the fence.” Ethan grinned. “At
least it hasn’t been since you’ve been in charge.”

  He hesitated briefly.

  “But, don’t get me wrong,” Ethan said looking into Kate’s eyes with complete sincerity. “When you want to go, I’m with you one hundred percent.”

  “I know,” Kate said with a smile. “Everyone thinks I have all this shit figured out, but I don’t know a damn thing. Running just seems far easier.”

  “Does it though? I mean look at our situation now. Is this easy?”

  Kate shrugged. “It might be if we were prepared. Settled. Ready to protect ourselves with something better than shovels. Not to mention the thirty plus miles we still need to travel.”

  “We may have to walk more than thirty miles we when head out.”

  Kate raised an eyebrow. “Not if we take a truck.”

  Ethan chuckled and looked down at his hands. Something outside the window creaked, and he covered Kate’s mouth with his palm as he placed his index finger over his lips.

  Kate grabbed his hand and eased it away from her face, but she didn’t let go of his hand. There was another creak… followed by another. She could imagine The Unholy making its way around the porch.

  With how slowly it was moving, and the fact that it kept moving, Kate was sure, that it had no idea anyone was inside of the house.

  Ethan leaned back, pulling Kate with him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her as they sat in silence waiting for the night to pass by.

  Kate wondered if maybe Ethan was right. Staying inside the fence might be their best option. It was just too bad she couldn’t stop thinking about what might be out there.

  Chapter 6

  Kate had fallen asleep. When she woke, she blinked several times allowing the room to come into focus. Ethan smiled at her as she peeled herself away from his chest.

  “Sorry,” she said, her cheek hot from being in the same position.

  “It’s fine.”

  “Did you stay awake all night?”

  Ethan bobbed his head. “For the most part.”

  He stretched his arms toward the ceiling before making his way over to the window. Kate watched as Ethan’s eyes scanned the yard. He dropped the curtain and jerked his head toward the hall.

  “Should we check the kitchen before we head out?” he asked.

  “Sure, but there isn’t going to be anything in there,” Kate said crossing her arms.

  She followed Ethan down the hall and into the small kitchen. Kate couldn’t even imagine how Percy’s wife had managed to make meals for a family of five in something so cozy.

  Dusty pots and pans hung on the wall next to coffee mugs and pictures of roosters and cows. There were dirty dishes with mold growing on them sitting in the sink.

  “Looks like they didn’t have time to clean up,” Ethan said opening one of the cabinets. He held up a jar of peanut butter and unscrewed the cap. The seal was still securely in place. “Think this is still good?”

  Kate nodded as she opened the closest drawer looking for a spoon. “We should have looked last night.”

  “Thought it was too dark,” Ethan said opening the drawer next to him and pulling out two spoons. He held one of them out toward Kate.

  He tore off the seal and scooped out a massive spoonful. Ethan closed his eyes as he put the whole thing in his mouth.

  “You’re going to choke,” Kate said digging out her own scoop.

  Ethan tried to respond, but all that came out were sticky mumbles. Kate laughed and licked the peanut butter off the back of her spoon before going in for more.

  When she looked up, she saw Ethan staring at her. Kate wiped her chin assuming she had peanut butter smudged all over her face.

  “What?” she asked.

  Ethan abruptly looked away. “Oh, nothing. Here,” he said shoving the jar into Kate’s hand. “I’ll look for more.”

  Kate and Ethan snacked on anything and everything they could find that was still edible. After they finished, they headed back into the living room and peered out of the windows. Kate’s stomach twisted into a tight knot, and she suddenly worried that she’d eaten too much.

  For as far as they could see, there wasn’t an Unholy in sight, but they were out there somewhere. Ethan flipped something in his hand and held it out toward Kate.

  “This one is for you,” he said as Kate wrapped her fingers around the wooden handled steak knife. Ethan had his own, but he still grabbed the shovel away from the wall. He sucked in a loud breath. “Ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Kate said glancing at her shovel. She would have taken it except she didn’t want to carry the extra weight. They were in for a long hike, and she needed the energy.

  Ethan stepped out of the house slowly looking around the corners. The ground was soaked, and there were puddles of water scattered all over the yard and driveway. The sun was pushing through the clouds, and there were several large, black crows digging their beaks into the muddy ground looking for their breakfast.

  Ethan set a rather quick pace, but Kate didn’t have any trouble keeping up. Even though there weren’t any Unholy in sight, both Kate and Ethan kept quiet. The only sounds they made were the crunches from their shoes scratching against the gravel road.

  The sun traveled across the sky as Ethan and Kate put in what seemed like endless miles. They weren’t going to make it back before night. Kate didn’t think they’d walked more than ten miles, but she hoped that she was wrong.

  “We should stop for the night,” Ethan said gesturing toward a small brick home at the end of a long driveway. It was surrounded by trees and overgrown plants that looked as though they were trying to devour the home.

  “You sure about that one?” Kate asked, nervous that swarms of Unholy might be lurking in the shadows. “Maybe we could find something else.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Ethan said lightly bumping into Kate. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Don’t you mean I’ll take care of you?”

  Ethan chuckled.

  They kept silent as they walked up to the house. There were soft scuffles, creaks, and cracks that came from the nearby trees, but not an Unholy in sight. Of course, that didn’t mean they weren’t out there.

  Ethan closed the door and locked it behind them. He tapped his finger to his lips as he looked around the house.

  They cautiously worked their way around the home, stepping into each room to make sure there weren’t any Unholy waiting to jump out at them. When they got back to the living room, Ethan flopped down on the sofa and leaned his head back.

  Kate sat down on the recliner and pulled off her shoes. She rubbed her feet through her socks ignoring the blister that had formed on the side of her heel.

  The night set in faster with all the trees that surrounded the house. If there had been any moonlight, it didn’t reach the windows.

  Ethan popped up off the sofa and started looking around.

  “What are you doing?” Kate asked.

  “Looking for a candle.”

  Kate shook her head. “Won’t the light draw their attention?”

  “Not if we keep the curtains closed,” Ethan said. “At least I hope.”

  Kate pressed her lips together forming a straight line. Ethan was probably right but being inside the unfamiliar territory made her nervous even if he wasn’t.

  “It isn’t going to matter though, since I can’t find one,” Ethan said lowering himself back down to the sofa.

  Kate pulled her legs up on to the chair and peeked out between the curtains of the window to her right. She shivered as she watched the shadows from the trees and plants sway.

  It wasn’t just fear of what was lurking out there that made her shiver, the temperature had dropped rapidly with the disappearing sunlight.

  “Here,” Ethan said holding up an afghan.

  “No, thanks,” Kate said even though she regretted the words the moment they’d left her lips. Using things that had belonged to other people wasn’t some
thing that was easy for Kate.

  Inside the hotel was different. The beds, the blankets, everything inside hadn’t belonged to anyone in particular. None of it had memories attached to it like the afghan Ethan was draping around his shoulders.

  “Don’t freeze to death because you’re being stubborn,” Ethan said with a deep sniff. “When you’re ready, you can come on over here, and we’ll share. Or if you prefer I can go find you a different one.”

  “It’s fine.” Kate curled up in the chair leaning her head against the back. “I’m fine.”

  Ethan clicked his tongue, and she could imagine his eyes rolling behind her back. Even she knew she was being stubborn, but it wasn’t like she could help it. That was someone else’s blanket.

  If she was really going to leave the town, she was going to have to deal with using what had been left behind. After the disease spread, she’d been lucky to lock herself inside her own home. She got to use her own things, and what she did have to take was food and water. Supplies didn’t have a story. Personal items, like blankets inside homes, those things had stories.

  Kate closed her eyes. Maybe she was just tired. Over-thinking everything. When she left… when they left, it would be different.

  “God dammit,” she whispered into the silence.

  “Everything okay over there?” Ethan asked.

  Kate pressed her palm to her forehead. “Was just thinking about leaving the town.”

  “And we will, but there isn’t any rush,” Ethan said.

  “I know, that’s what I was thinking about,” Kate said with a sigh. “Maybe you’re right. There isn’t anything out here anyway.”

  The sadness that overwhelmed Kate surprised her. Her shoulders sagged down, and she turned back toward the shadows outside.

  Kate jumped when something touched her shoulder. She jerked to reach over to the table beside her to grab the knife but in a blink, noticed it was only Ethan.

  “Sorry,” he said pulling his hand back. He crouched down next to her. “I don’t know what is or isn’t out there. Hell, I don’t even know if we should stay in the town. I’m just picking what seems easiest. Safest. But smartest? I don’t have the slightest idea what that is.”